ERASED: Insanity
by Charley1925
Summary: He loses everything. Fujinuma Satoru had two revivals. Two chances to saved his mother, Hinazuki Kayo, Sugita Hiromi, and Nakanishi Aya. And he failed. All he did was put off the inevitable another 16 years. At his lowest point, when he's surrounded by burning embers, it happens. Another revival. But what can he do differently? Who did he forget to save?
1. Chapter 1

**Ch1 Bittersweet** :

Fifteen years. That's how long Fujinuma Satoru was asleep. It couldn't have been easy for the now twenty-six year old man to adjust to, even though he was technically twenty- eight mentally.

Waking up was difficult at first. Satoru couldn't even see properly after his stupor. He was essentially a quadriplegic; disabled from the neck down until he finally regained his strength. Hearing was the first of his senses to fully return later followed by sight and smell. Then after a few weeks, Satoru could move his hands and arms and then sit upright. By this time, Sachiko, his mother, thought it would be good to invite his old friends from grade school to come and visit. Dr. Kitamaru, the doctor assigned to Satoru, was a little apprehensive, seeing that he didn't want to possibly impair his recovery, but eventually agreed.

Kobayashi Kenya and Sugita Hiromi came first. Satoru was enthralled to see them again. Although they looked a little taller and older than their eleven year old counterparts, he recognized them at first glance. Kenya was now a lawyer and Hiromi a doctor. The conversation was relatively trivial and light talking about this and that. Satoru deduced that his mother didn't want to strain his memory and thus asked Kenya and Hiromi from asking and or mentioning the past. Both say they owe their careers to Satoru's influence and tell him how grateful they are for everything he did for them. They also wanted to apologize for learning to be happy without him and moving on with their respective lives.

Satoru was happy. He had no regrets whatsoever and affirmed, "Don't worry about me. I'm happy for you both. All of you."

Kenya and Hiromi smiled in relief. The kind of smile you express once you have been forgiven for an offence you did not commit.

Ten or so minutes flew by and Kenya and Hiromi new it was about time that they saw themselves out. Satoru thanked them for the visit and they promised to come again in the future.

Over the past two months Satoru focused on his rehabilitation. Day in and day out he was on the parallel bars, slowly but steadily regaining strength in his legs and back. He attacked this new obstacle like a madman for his mother's sake. For fifteen years she cared for him. During his coma, she shaved him, flipped over his body, and did a myriad other mundane tasks all for the sake of keeping Satoru alive with the hope that one day, he can thank her for it. And he intended to pay her back with fifteen years interest.

Then a visiter came. A woman. Satoru was catching his breath in his wheelchair from physical therapy. She hesitatingly called, "Satoru?" It sounded more like an inquiry than a call to an old friend, like when you see someone who appears like one you know, but you don't know for sure.

Satoru looked up and saw her. The girl he went back in time to save along with Hiromi and Nakanishi Aya. Hinazuki Kayo all grown up with a newborn infant in her arms. How different she looked, and yet not different at all. It's comparable to when you run into a friend who looks the same, but had complete change in personality such that they are, in essence, a different person. Although Kayo was different physically and psychologically, that was the best way to describe his thoughts.

Satoru cried, though at the moment he didn't know why. But he cried and was happy and said, "Congratulations, Kayo."

It may have been fifteen years since they last held a conversation, but whether it was fifteen years or one hundred didn't matter. In spite of the time skip they resumed their relationship as if nothing had happened.

"I was able to become happy. Thanks to the time I spent with you," Kayo proclaimed with a smile on her face. Those words fell on Satoru's ears like music and made his fifteen-year stupor worth every second.

Kayo gave a brief synopsis of her life up as of the present. She was married to Himori now and her name was Sugita Kayo and their child, who is a boy, is named Mirai (which means "the future"). Satoru smiled when he heard that name. For some reason, it struck a chord in his heart. He didn't know why and he didn't care.

"Mirai. It's a great name," was his response.

Kayo smiled, but exchanged it for a serious expression. "Satoru, I actually felt very uneasy," she confessed. "Back then I wandered, "Is it okay for we only became happy?" I thought it was my fault that you fell into a coma." Kayo looked at the ground for a moment and then back to Satoru. She continued, "I felt like I was leaving you behind."

Satoru locked his eyes on Kayo's and smiled. A facetious one at that. "Kayo, my fate is mine alone," he declared. "There's no need for you to feel any responsibility. I must be what I am now, as a result of doing what I thought was right."

Kayo quietly laughed to herself and said, "Even after fifteen years you still have a way with words."

Satoru startled for a moment at this revelation. For twenty-eight years, before he jumped back to 1988 the first time, he was never known for his oratory skills. He only acted sociable when he was a child in order to get friends, and gradually less and less when he got older and became more indifferent about keeping up the facade. Apparently Satoru's last two revivals had a more lasting effect on him than he thought.

He paused for a minute before replying, "Huh… Guess you're right."

Kayo took the time to express her gratitude once again. Stating that she would never have had a family had he not intervened in her life.

Satoru closed his eyes and sighed with satisfaction, seeing that all his hard work to save her had paid off.

The two said their goodbyes and Satoru resumed his physical therapy. That night as he was staring up at the ceiling, his mind reflected on the recent past events since his awakening.

Satoru -

I really can't believe it. Kayo is alive and happy. She's so different from the pessimistic girl I once new fifteen years ago. I honestly never thought she'd get married though. I mean I know it would happen eventually, but I suppose I never took it into consideration when I was a child. I guess I'm also surprised that she married Hiromi of all people. I didn't know he had it in him. He's a lucky man. Come to think of it, Mirai has Hiromi's eyelashes and his face resembles Kayo's a little. There is no denying that boy's his son…

Huh. His son. Why does that suddenly sound bitter to me?

His son… What is this? This… feeling? It feels like a knot is forming in my stomach.

His son. What is going on!? Why do I feel so angry? His son. His son. Stop it! Stop it right now! Look, I'm happy for her, truly I am! I didn't have these feelings earlier. What is it?! Why is it happening now?!

Satoru's cell phone began to ring. The sudden noise scared him and in that moment he about his inner argument. Satoru sat up and picked up the phone. He didn't recognize the number.

"Who would call me at this hour?" he questioned himself. Satoru paused before clicking the answer button and lifting the phone up to his ear. "Hello? May I ask who I'm speaking to?" he inquired.

"Hello Satoru. It's Kayo. I'm so sorry for calling you this late, but I felt like I needed to talk to you about something. Or rather ask you something."

Terror struck Satoru's heart. Just a few hours ago, they were talking and reminiscing without a care in the world. But now, something was wrong. And he could feel it.

"Is something wrong?" Satoru asked. He didn't notice how urgent he sounded on the other line.

"No, no there's nothing wrong," Kayo calmly responded. "It's just… Ugh. I don't know how to say this." She hesitated for a minute before finally posing the question that weighed on her mined. "Have you ever made a choice that you were confident was the right decision, but then something happens and you aren't so sure any more?"

The question confused Satoru. Just earlier he saw the smile on Kayo's face and the look of glee in her eyes. She wasn't lying in that moment. When they were talking about their lives and Kayo's past, she wasn't lying. He would know. They were both actors when they were children for a while.

"I suppose I have," Satoru replied hesitatingly. "Why? What's the problem?"

Kayo sighed and then steeled herself. She knew what she was about to say was going to change their relationship forever. "I'll come right to the point then. I feel… sad… for not waiting for you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Ch2 Regret?** :

"... Sad?" Satoru bewilderedly inquired. A myriad thoughts blazed through his mind.

Satoru:

Sad? What could Kayo possibly mean? Why is she sad? Why should she be sad? She's married, she has a family, Hiromi can more than provide for her current and foreseeable future needs. What can she mean? What do you mean?

"What do you mean?" Satoru abruptly asked.

It happened. He accidently said what he was thinking. Although he was now twenty-six years old, he still possessed that unfortunate habit from childhood. Satoru bit his tongue and frantically fumbled through his thoughts trying to find a way to recover himself.

Kayo paused for what appeared to be an eternity. Even though she was now an adult, some feelings were still difficult to convey. She collected her thoughts, took a breath and finally made her case. "When you invited me to your birthday party all those years ago in the park. More accurately, when you forced yourself into my life, my dark shallow pathetic excuse of an existence, I was originally annoyed. I didn't want to deal with anyone because I had enough pain in my life already. But when you said that you decided not to lie to me, I was - surprised. And as I ran away, I felt this warm sensation in my chest like when you are enraptured by a beautiful sunrise or sunset. I haven't had those feelings for a long time and they didn't stop there. Every time I was around you or when you held my hand, I felt - safe. And everyday thereafter, I learned to be happy. I learned to smile and laugh. To share and… trust. Trust was one of the harder things I had to re-learn. Everyday I was learning - no. You taught me. You taught me how to be human again. You broke down my self-isolation and , which I now saw is what I used to protect myself from pain. I truly owe you my life, Satoru. I was happy...but then - you were gone. For fifteen years. It broke my heart to see you pail and emaciated with innumerable instruments connected to your body just to keep you alive. However, although I was pained by your current condition, I remembered what you taught me. And although you were asleep, whenever I saw you, I thought I could hear you telling me, "Don't be worry about me. Live your life and be happy." And so I did. I finished school and graduated Valedictorian and then earned a degree in elementary education. Eventually, Hiromi and I got married and we had Mirai a month ago. I was happy. Then you woke… and…"

Kayo's voice trailed off as she attempted to tie all her thoughts together. She tried to find the words to drive her point, but she didn't know what to say. The only words she could think of were the words reserved for special people.

Satoru listened patiently to Kayo's story. While she was speaking, he was paying attention to every word as if he was receiving an urgent letter from the prime minister himself. Then when Kayo began to stumble over her words and finish the story, it clicked.

 _You love me, don't you?_ "You love me, don't you?"

He did it again. And possible at the worst of times. Kayo didn't respond at first, but paused and then replied, "... Yes. I think I do."

Satoru's eyes widened so much that his pupils looked miniscule compared to the white surrounding them. He fell back on his pillow and palmed his forehead with his free hand wondering _How am I supposed to feel? What am I supposed to do?_ He didn't have much time to think because soon after, Kayo speedily tried to recover herself after her earth-shattering confession.

"Please don't misunderstand me! I do love my husband Hiromi and I treasure our little Mirai and I don't want to lose that. It's just… ugh… These feelings just came upon me so suddenly and unexpectedly. *sigh* I suppose I wanted to get them off my chest before they made me do something stupid." Kayo waited for a moment to gather her thoughts and resumed. "I don't expect you to have the same feelings for me now. We were children at the time anyway and fifteen years is a long time for anyone to be asleep. *sigh* I think I said enou…"

"I have a confession to make as well," Satoru interrupted. "Just before you called, I noticed that I have feelings similar to what you were describing. Back then I did have feelings for you, and although it's been fifteen years, I still do. I love you too."

Neither said a word for a solid minute. Both Satoru and Kayo were processing where to go from this and considering the consequences of their mutual confession.

Satoru broke the silence. "I hope you can forgive me for how I felt and what I said. Before you called, I was running today's events through my mind and my thoughts settled on your visit. I found out that I was jealous of Hiromi, that you got together with him and not I. And I was jealous that Mirai wasn't my - OUR child. But I want you to know something. I will not tell a living soul about our conversation. About our - regrets. I also want you to know that I would never dream about asking you to - cheat on Hiromi, nor would I want you to consider it. He's your husband and a good man and friend. I will not hold anything against him. And I hope… I hope that we can be friends."

Again it was silent over the wire, albeit for a shorter period of time compared to their prior confession. Kayo made her response, "I'm so happy you understand. I was actually scared that you would ask me to do something awful and that I'd have to sever our relationship. Thank you Satoru. I needed this."

"And thank you too," Satoru replied. "It was a good idea to address our feelings from the start before they caused us any pain. I really appreciated it. Goodnight Kayo."

"Goodnight to you too, Satoru," Kayo responded. "And for the record, I forgive you for your jealousy, although I can't say that it's unheard of. No telling a soul, you promise?"

"It's a promise. Don't be stupid!" Satoru comically jabbed.

"That's my line, dummy!" Kayo said with a giggle.

Both hung up. Satoru sunk into his pillow and breathed a dramatic sigh of relief. So much was solved in that one conversation. He had no idea how easily problems could be solved when you openly talk about it.

 _Not a soul_. _That's a promise_.

Somewhere in Tokyo, a man was grinning a fiendish grin whilst staring at the moon with demonic red eyes. The kind of eyes that only the basest of villains possessed. He closed his phone with a satisfying clop. "Not a soul. That's a promise," he muttered with a smile plastered on his face. "Not a soul."


	3. Chapter 3

**Ch3 Familiar Faces**

After that phone call, Satoru and Kayo did what they said what they'd do. Stayed friends. Although they did have "feelings" for one another, both knew that succumbing to such feelings will only result in misery for both parties. And so they were friends and were happy with that.

The following year passed by quickly for Satoru. During his recovery, he met a young girl named Kumi who was soon to undergo a bone marrow operation for some treatment. When he saw how nervous and scared she was, he saw himself. He didn't know why he had taken a liking to the girl, but it was probably for the same reason Yuuki befriended Satoru. To encourage him. Now Satoru had the opportunity to return the favor, and so he did.

The operation went well and doctors said that they will need to monitor Kumi for a little less than two years before they could accurately determine whether the treatment was successful or not. Coincidentally, Satoru's rehabilitation was estimated to last just as long, albeit a little shorter. During that year, Satoru and Kumi drew very close and became like siblings. It was a new experience for him, to have a younger sister of sorts, and he enjoyed it. Sachiko, in turn, became a second mother to Kumi and she too liked this little arrangement.

They did all sorts of fun activities on their downtime. Kumi taught Satoruhow to fold paper cranes and he taught her how to draw. He even piqued her interest in writing, and under his tutelage, Kumi one the writing competition at the hospital for younger patients. Satoru was proud of her, his little sister. He even introduced her to all his old friends, Kayo included, who took a liking to the gleeful little sprite.

After a year, Satoru could finally walk again. He couldn't do it for very long though. After a mile, he'd get tired and then would need the assistance of a cane to continue his journey.

One day, after finishing a walk, Satoru sat down on his bed in his designated room for a rest when Kumi burst through the door waving a flyer in the air with her left hand.

"It's happening again!" Kumi yelled with glee. "They're holding the camping trip again?"

A smile crept over Satoru's face. He was not at all phased by her rude and abrupt entrance. Kumi often entered his room in such a fashion. He nonchalantly asked, "Where to?"

"Ooohhh, so you can listen," Kumi responded rolling her in sarcastic disbelief. "It's at Camp Sasanqua. Only the most beautiful camp in the whole world!" Then she began to rattle off all of the "most wonderful" and "amazing" things about camp Sasanqua. Satoru just closed his eyes and listened.

"And so I think we should go!"

"Mmhh-w-what? What!?" Satoru accidentally dozed for a moment.

"Sometimes he listens and sometimes he doesn't. Just spin the wheel and try your luck, folks!" Kumi sardonically chided with straight face.

"Ha-ha. Very funny Kumi," Satoru said rolling his eyes.

Kumi placed her hands on her hips and sighed, "What am I going to do with?"

"Find another patient to bother," Satoru grinned.

"That's not even funny," Kumi frowned.

"Well anyway, what's this about going to your camp?" he inquired.

In no time, the cynicism subsided and Kumi regained her upbeat tempo and resumed her proposal about the camp. "The hospital is holding a scavenger hunt for a couple of days at Camp Sasanqua for younger patients. Older patients are welcome as well and there's going to be a barbeque, hiking trails, boat rides, and even a live music performance by some fellow patients. It's gonna be so much fun, and we gotta go!"

"Sorry, but don't you need adult supervision and consent from your doctor and parents ?"

"Oh yeah," Kumi drooped when the reality of the situation was plopped before. Kumi gave a long, sad and exasperated sigh. "I really wanted to go. It's so much fun.'

"It does sound like fun," a familiar voice chimed outside the door. Sachiko poked her head in the window to see a now hopeful Kumi and mildly irritated Satoru grimacing in her direction.

"Don't you ever knock?"

"Not when I'm visiting my son."

"That's why I ask."

Sachiko smirked and pulled out her cell phone and wiggling it in her hand, informed Kumi that she will give the doctor and her parents a call to check if it was all alright. Kumi saluted this gesture with a joyful shriek and quick hug.

"Thank you soooooo much, Ms. Fujinuma!"

"Calm down kid, I still need to make the call." Kumi quickly let her go with a mild blush of embarrassment. "You need to strike when the iron is hot," she called back as she walked down the hallway to for a little more privacy.

The next five minutes lasted an eternity Kumi. She sat on the ground in a little ball and rolled back and forth with her arms wrapped around her legs muttering how she really wanted to go and how beautiful and transparent the lake is. Satoru's mother returned and announced, "The problem is solved. We can all go."

Kumi erupted from her seat shooting her arms in the air in triumph, while Satoru, on the other hand, asked his mother to clarify if the word "all" meant himself included.

"That's right. I'll be acting as Kumi's guardian, and you will supervise her during the scavenger hunt."

Satoru sighed in despair knowing that he had no choice but to go but also knew all too well that it was going to be a good time. Before he had time to sulk, Kumi notified him that he had a visitor. To Satoru's surprise and relief, there was Kenya leaning on the door frame with his suit tucked up under his left arm.

"I hope you don't mind if I borrow you for a bit," Kenya inquired.

"Not at all," Satoru responded. "I needed some fresh air anyway."

Kenya and Satoru sat down in the hospital garden. They made sure to pick a more recluse location because they wanted to talk about someone important. Someone who knew about Satoru's awakening. Someone they knew would most certainly use this peaceful outing as a means to revenge himself of Satoru. For ruining his plans. The killer. It was to discuss him that both withdrew themselves into the peaceful trees. To devise a plan of attack.

Camp Sasanqua was surprisingly closer than Satoru expected. Only two hours away from Tokyo. Once everyone arrived, Satoru and Kumi went to the fire pits where they were supposed to meet before starting the scavenger hunt and Sachiko assisted the volunteers with unloading the provisions from the cars and helping them in the kitchen.

When Satoru exited the car, he was taken back by the beautiful scenery. He just stood there caressing the handle of his cane, taking it all in. It was just like Kumi described it and more. The camp was hidden in a valley surrounded by green forests. On the far side of the camp was a bright blue lake. The light from the sun reflected shimmering gold off the water and the surrounding flowers were in full bloom. "It truly is beautiful," he thought out loud.

"See?" Kumi chimed. "I told you it was pretty."

"Well you were right about that," Satoru admitted. Camp Sasanqua was quite a sight.

Kumi then tugged on his arm and said, "We need to go to the fire pits before we start the scavenger hunt."

Satoru was sad to leave this particular spot, but he relented and proceeded to join her and the others.

The hunt began. With map and itinerary in hand, Kumi led the charge searching for the randomly assigned conglomerate of items with Satoru keeping up from behind. In order to find said items, everyone was given a clue and or a riddle for a certain thing, then once you found the thing, there was another riddle or clue for the next thing. Kumi's eyes were as sharp as her wits. Having learned a thing or two about writing from Satoru, she learned how to understand riddles better and, in this case, find the obscure locations the aforementioned riddles described.

Kumi and Satoru were having the time of their lives. But although all seemed fine and dandy, he had to keep a look out for _him_ , because he knew _he'd_ be here. The scavenger hunt lasted for quite a while, part of it taking place after sunset. Thirty minutes after sunset, Satoru informed his mother that he was walking to the bridge to get a better view of the lake. He then grabbed his cane after taking a short rest on a bench and made his way there. Once Satoru knew he was far enough away, he pulled out his cell phone and called Kenya. Their plan was going just well. He and Sawada discovered two boxes with kidnapper's equipment inside and have since removed them to a secure location. Satoru thanked them for their efforts and updated them on his status. After a quick encouragement on both sides, he hung up and continued his walk. It didn't take long before he reached his location. He stopped dead in his tracks. Shocked. _He_ was there.


	4. Chapter 4

**Ch4 Standards**

There _he_ was. Just standing there in the middle of the bridge in the early moonlight. It was surprising to Satoru, seeing him so casually dressed in brown shorts, a hat, and a colorful button-up (at least that is what he surmised considering it was night), although at the same time it wasn't surprising at all. The man was finishing off the remains of a lollipop he was chewing on. Once he was done, he flicked the stick into the lake and lifted his eyes towards the moon. It was full tonight.

Satoru slowly made his way to the man's position and joined him in his lunar gaze. They stood there and looked. They didn't speak to each other for a solid two minutes. Just looked at the moon and appreciated it's luminous glory.

"I see you never got over your addiction to sugar Mr. Yashiro," Satoru said breaking the silence.

The man maintained his steady vigil and grinning replied, "Unfortunately not. Quitting cigarettes was hard, but I knew that if I didn't, I might get lung cancer. It's better having an addiction to sugar than nicotine."

"Really?" Satoru sardonically replied. "You're willing to kidnap and murder elementary-aged children and have a close friend or family member take the fall, but you draw the line when it comes to poor health? You may want to review your standards."

Yashiro chuckled at the thought. "I suppose you do have a point," he confessed. "Saying yes to child abduction and murder and no to cigarettes is quite the inverted standard."

Satoru finally looked at the man's face. His eyes were still locked on the moon, but his expression changed from peaceful to wistful. This baffled Satoru. After seeing the "real" Yashiro, he never considered that serial killers could dream.

"Standards...morals… huh. They're a funny thing," the man began. "They exist in the realm of the metaphysical. A purely theoretical and abstract environment. And yet our society imposes these ideas on themselves as if they're as real as the air we're breathing."

The man smiled again and gave a low mocking chuckle before continuing his monologue. "The idea of right and wrong. How we treat those words is truly comical. In one moment they are stark, strong and immovable like a mountain and in the next, they are as flexible as clay, taking whatever form we choose."

"Why are you talking about right and wrong like this?" Satoru sharply intruded glaring at Yashiro. "A man like you doesn't have any moral standard."

"You were right when you said mine is shaky," Yashiro admitted. "However, mine is actually stronger than yours."

Hot blood began to pump into Satoru's face. He was getting mad. Mad at the murder who claims to be free from hypocrisy. He clenched his fist tightly around his cane's handle and then inquired, "What makes your standard so much better?"

"By no means is it better," Yashiro responded removing his sunglasses. "It's stronger, in that I actually abide by it. Would you like to know what my standard is?"

Satoru was furious. Insulted by the fact that a murderer was attempting to instruct his former student in philosophy. However, in spite of his internal rage, he respectfully asked, "What is it then?"

Yashiro finally broke his gaze from the moon and met Satoru's burning eyes with his own. There was lust in his eyes. Lust for blood. His blood. The man's blood and he liked it. A smile crept across his face. A normal one. An unusually normal one. "My standard," Yashiro began, "or my drive is to kill God."


	5. Chapter 5

**Ch5 Killing God**

Satoru just starred. Dumbfounded by Yashiro's response. _Killing God? What is this nonsense? Are you insane?_ "Are you insane?"

The man grinned. "I assure you I am completely sane. My drive is to kill God," he repeated. His eyes were calm and unwavering. He wasn't lying. He truly meant what he said.

"But it's obvious that there is no god!" Satoru blurted out. "We came to be through millions of years of evolution and and natural selection. There is plenty of evidence in support of this fact." These words came out simply and quickly. It was all a matter of fact for Satoru and that was that.

Surprisingly, Yashiro frowned. "Did you really learn so little when you were my student?" he asked. "Yes I taught the theory of evolution, it was a requirement on the curriculum. But I also taught you to think critically before your "accident.""

Satoru was taken back by this criticism. Here he was, being taught by a serial killer. His former teacher who tried to kill him. Nothing was right about this scene. Nothing at all. However, he could remembered Yashiro mentioning something about critical thinking fifteen years earlier. He didn't pay attention at the time because he was too preoccupied with trying to save everyone.

The man sighed and turned away. "I suppose I can't expect you to remember everything I taught you. Well, I suppose I'll have teach you the basics before you can understand what I meant. The long and short of it is, that you can't accept everything you hear as fact. You need to do your own investigation and collect your own evidence so you can come to your own conclusion."

"But evolution has plenty of evidence," Satoru barked back, too frustrated by the peculiarity of the situation to conjure a legitimate argument.

"You are absolutely right," Yashiro admitted. "There is a lot of evidence in support of the theory of evolution. However, my issue isn't so much over that, but good and evil."

"What do you mean?" Satoru asked.

"Well...," the man started, "What is it? Where did it come from?"

"It came from philosophy and religion which were made by men," Satoru answered.

Yashiro looked at the ground in thought. He was frowning. The disappointed kind of frown. "You were one of my brighter students, Satoru. I honestly would have expected a more well thought-out answer coming from you."

The hot blood began pumping again and Satoru said, "Well why don't you tell me then?"

Yashiro didn't answer immediately. Instead, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a lollipop, removed the wrapper, and placed it in his mouth. Behaving as if Satoru wasn't even there. After a few moments, he pulled out the candy and looked at the moon. "Let me tell you something about truth. Truth _is_ and lies _are not_. Lies don't exist but they describe the absence or lack of truth. A vacuum, if you will. The same applies to good and evil. Good _is_ and evil _is not_. Evil is the absence or lack of good. A vacuum as well."

"What's your point, Yashiro?" Satoru angily interrupted.

The man looked at the moon again twiddling the treat in his hand. "Have you ever noticed that when you do something "good", you feel good and vice versa for "bad"? That is something evolution cannot truly explain. Sure there are theories for why that is, but no absurd number of years can explain why we feel good when we are… "nice" to others."

The hot blood in Satoru's face cooled and he began to actually consider his former teacher's words. Evil as he was, there was a degree of sense in what the man was saying.

Yashiro continued. "Forgiveness. That's a real kicker. Why we feel good for that makes no sense whatsoever, evolutionarily speaking. When we are wronged, we deserve justice. But then someone can turn around and forgive their friend for whatever they did and they'll be just as friendly to each other as they were before if not closer. None of it makes sense - unless "goodness" was, in a way, natural law. Unless there is a god."

"Why does there need to be a god to explain good and evil?" Saturo inquired.

"Because only a god, or a creator, can instill in everyone of us some understanding of good and evil. It's not something that can be socially engineered, because everyone has it regardless of their upbringing. True there are some people who don't have this understanding, but nearly every man woman and child has it to some extent."

Satoru was baffled by Yashiro's explanation. Not only by its absurdity, but also by the miniscule degree of sense it _was_ making. But as interesting as all of this was, Satoru needed an answer for one question. "Assuming anything you said is true, how are you killing God?"

By now, Yashiro finished his candy and flicked it into the pond. He pulled out a cell phone and began to dial a number. Once he was finished, he faced Satoru and said, "Like this," abd pressed the call button.

At first, there was a pause, and then it happened. The loud sound of an explosion. A series of explosions. The nearest and loudest was in the direction of the fire pits which, at this time, was filled with people. His people. Satoru's people.

He turned around as quickly as he could and the sight horrified him. A fiery red plume of smoke was already rising in the air. He didn't need to see the embers that were already forming around the splintered wood of the nearby buildings. He didn't need to see the mangled bodies, the screaming children and parents frantically trying to escape the flames. He didn't need to see the burning corpses of what was once his friends and family. He knew they were dead. All of them were at the fire pits at this time. Sawada, Kenya, Sachiko… and Kumi. They were gone. He knew it.

Satoru was too shocked to even react to what just processed in his mind. But then _he_ went even further. "I knew you and your friends would find my dummy tools. That didn't surprise me. But as you can see, I decided to try a more terrorist-esque approach for this scene." _He_ paused, letting everything slowly sink in. Satoru was frozen. He couldn't move. He couldn't think. He couldn't feel. All he could feel was horror. "Don't be so down," Yashiro chimed. "Your secret's safe with me. Not a soul will know. That's a promise"

Satoru turned and muttered, "...you didn't…".

 _He_ smiled that grin. That evil maniacal grin. "Oh but I could, and I did. She won't be telling her husband or anyone of your secret affection for one another."

Rage. Rage boiling over mixed with acrid sweat and salty tears. Satoru turned and faced the man. The monster. "Why?!" he growled. "Why would you do this? Now of all times?!"

"Simple. I wanted to kill God," was his prompt reply. "You see, if God is real, then good is a law that He created. When we choose evil instead, we hurt God. Since I think we are created by Him, Her, or it, that means we all have a degree of value."

"Are you saying tha-"

"I'm saying that the best way to kill a man, is to kill the ones he loves. Right now, you're a dead man walking. Therefore, by proxy, I am killed God."

 _He_ rattled on and on about God and the like. Satoru wasn't listening. He couldn't. His thoughts were too loud. _Pointless. All my hard work undone before my eyes. The sleepless nights, the hours of planning, my fifteen year coma. All reduced to ash by this one man. All I did do was postpone the inevitable. All pointless in one moment…_ His head was hanging in defeat. That's all he thought he could do. No one could stop this man. Not even time itself.

Yashiro finally ended his speech, seeing that Satoru wasn't listening. After a few moments, he began to quiver and then his lips started moving. "...ill you… I'll… ill you…" _He_ knew what he was trying to say and waited for him to say it more audibly.

After a minute of silence, Satoru reared his head. Tears were streaming from his eyes, but that's not what interested Yashiro. His eyes were red. Bright as scarlet and full of murder. These eyes entranced _him_. Unfortunately, a little too much because in that moment, Satoru roared his vendetta, "I'LL KILL YOU!" and leaped for his throat and squeezed every muscle in his fingers and forearms. _He_ didn't fight it. Just laughed. A very raspy laugh. Enraged by this taunt, he squeezed even harder and began to feel his nails digging into _his_ flesh.

He rammed Yashiro against the ropes of the bridge and kept on throttling and squeezing for an eternity. It was as if all the righteous fury from every poor victim of this man possessed him with the sole purpose of exacting the justice that was so sadly denied them. On and on this continued until something strange happened. Yashiro's legs gave out and he fell through the gap in the ropes, taking Satoru with him. They were now falling towards the water below and in this moment, time stopped. Satoru's blood cooled and he saw something - odd. _His_ expression. It wasn't right. Nothing about it was right. After everything he did, that face was wrong. All wrong. Very wrong.

 _What did I do? Was there someone I missed? Did I say something I shouldn't have? I did everything to save Kayo and the others. What did I do wrong? Who did I forget?_

From the corner of his eye, he spotted something blue fluttering by. _What is that?_ All around him the world turned negative. And he was back.


	6. Chapter 6

**Ch6 Another Chance**

As Satoru and Yashiro were falling to the waters below, the world turned negative. Time froze, and the strangest thing happened. Satoru's life up to that point flashed before his eyes. He saw Kumi as they were doing the scavenger hunt and Sachiko, his mother, as she re-entered his hospital room saying they could go to Camp Sasanqua. He saw Kayo with her baby in her arms visiting him during rehab. He saw Kenya and Hiromi after he woke up from his coma. And strangely enough, Satoru saw new memories. Ones he didn't know he had. He saw a shadowy figure, a feminine one, attaching what appeared to be electrodes to his arms. ' _Probably mother_ ,' he thought, and then that memory followed by a series of other ones similar to it. Then there was another memory with someone else. Everything was still shadowy, but it was definitely a woman. She was more slender than the other figure and he could distinctly recognize the short hair. It was Kayo. It had to be. She was sitting beside his bed and it appeared that she was holding his hand and talking to him. ' _Was she waiting for me?'_ Satoru pondered. This thought grew because as the memories flowed, this image was repeated a number of times.

Then there was another memory. Here, Satoru could feel himself being suspended in midair. Everywhere he looked was blue, except when he looked up and down. Above him was a lighter blue with white sprinkled in and below him was black. Satoru got nervous and began to feel discomfort in his chest. For some reason, when he breathed, he didn't feel any relief, but rather more and more discomfort which was gradually followed by pain. He panicked, trying so hard to get some air, and then it hit him. He was underwater in the car Yashiro locked him in.

Once Satoru realized this, he saw the interior of the car, the seatbelt that fixed him to the seat, and felt the icy cold of the water freezing his body. Then another wonder occurred. He started seeing all the major moments he had with Kayo. When he met her in the park, when he showed her the 'Christmas Tree', when they celebrated their birthdays, when he 'kidnapped' her, the bus, and one other memory. It was when she stayed the night, except this one shifted into focus. He could see the ceiling of their old home and vaguely heard someone. It was his mother, and she was inviting Satoru and Kayo to breakfast.

Then he felt a surge of what felt like electricity in his back and he reeled himself forward from this pain, sweating and breathing hard.

A younger Kayo inquired, "Are you okay, Satoru?"

He was very shaken and didn't know whether what he was seeing and feeling was real or just another delusion. Satoru could breathe again, that much was certain, and as he looked down he could see that he was indeed in his younger body. But He didn't know for sure.

"Can you pinch me?" Satoru asked.

Kayo was a little surprised from this question, but simply obliged. She crawled out of her futon towards him and gave him a nail-biting pinch.

"Ow!" Satoru yelped. "Not that hard!"

Kayo simply responded, "You asked for it, dumby."

Sachiko called again "Come to the table already, kids. Your foods getting cold."

Satoru looked up and saw the table with a delicious breakfast prepared for them. His mouth watered as he saw the sumptuous food of his childhood, and he gladly rose and quickly walked to the table.

When Satoru took his seat, he reflected on what just happened. ' _I'm not underwater...'_ he thought, ' _... and it doesn't seem like I'm hallucinating. What was all that just now? It was like I like I was watching my life like a movie reel. That pinch back there really did hurt, so if this is a dream, it's a really life-like one… Unless.'_

Before Satoru could reach his conclusion, his inner monologue was interrupted by a sound. A sad one. He looked to his right and noticed that Kayo was crying. But why was she crying? Satoru looked at Kayo, then at her plate, and back again. It clicked.

Satoru calmly rose and walked behind her. He placed his hands on Kayo's shoulder and gently turned her around so that she was facing him. He hugged her, encapsulating her tear-stained face in his warm embrace. Then he just stood there. Holding her.

Kayo slowly put her arms around Satoru and reciprocated the hug. She was still crying, but it was dying down.

This wasn't a dream. It was real. He was back, now 16 years in the past once again.

When Satoru finally realized this, he himself, started to cry. Albeit a little more quietly. Then he noticed another pair of arms wrapping themselves around them both. It was his mother, and she was smiling a warm satisfied smile. She was proud of her son. Of what Satoru has become in so short time at so young an age.

Eventually, Satoru smiled as well later followed by Kayo. "Thank you," she said. "Thank you for everything, Satoru."

"I made breakfast," Sachiko interjected, "Don't I get any thanks?"

"And thank you for the food Mrs. Fujinuma," Kayo respectfully smiled.

"That's more like it," she said with satisfaction.

Satoru could stay here forever. He didn't want to leave this position. Not ever. Here, he was surrounded by the two he loved most. His mother and the girl he came to save. But in spite of the bliss of this moment, Satoru's stomach was having none of it, as was Kayo's. Everyone broke from their familial hug and sat down to eat a mildly cold breakfast, but no one cared.

After they ate their meal, everyone leaned back on their chairs and gave a long sigh of contentment. Then Satoru and Kayo needed to get dressed. Before he could save her from Yashiro, he needed to save her from her mother, and it was time to put their plan into action once again.

In no time, they were all in the car heading towards Kayo's "home", or "prison" as she saw it. While they were driving, Kayo started quivering a little. She was afraid of how her mother will react; how she'll hurt her if the plan didn't work.

Satoru noticed this and gently put his hand over Kayo's and interlaced his fingers with hers. "It's going to be okay, Kayo," he assured her. "After today, she'll never hurt you again. I promise."

Kayo looked at him with a face of concern mixed with gratitude, and nodded.

' _Never again,'_ Satoru swore. ' _I'll never let anyone hurt you again. Especially…'_

"Yashiro." Satoru didn't realize that he was vocalizing his thoughts once again. And the way he said his name startled everyone in the car. Poison dripped from his lips as he said that name, but he didn't care. He was going to do everything in his power to protect Kayo. To protect everyone. Not only from now, but 16 years into the future and beyond. He wasn't going to delay the inevitable. He was going to stop it at all costs.

Soon enough, they were at Kayo's house. The previous events of the past followed almost to the letter. Kayo's mother answers the door, yells at her, yells at Satoru and his mother, attempts to hit Sachiko with a snow shovel, the Child Protective Services shows up, Kayo's grandmother begs her mother for forgiveness, and the angry mother cripples on top of her own mother in a sobbing mess. Kayo again looks away with indifference and is then asked to wait with Sachiko as the Child Protective Services conducted their work.

During this time, Satoru is holding Kayo's hand tightly with his mother's hands on their shoulders. Everything follows as it has already happened. Kayo's grandmother is now given custody of her and her mother won't be able to see her for a very long time. And now, it's time for her to leave.

Satoru walks Kayo to the car, her hand in his, and when they nearly reach the vehicle, he turns and faces her. He grabs both of her hands in his and pleads, "Promise me you will keep in touch. Okay?"

Kayo was a little taken back by the urgency in his voice and a flush of pink began forming on her cheeks. But she nodded and replied, "Yeah, I'll keep in touch."

Satoru then brings Kayo in for one more hug. "I'm really gonna miss you," he said. "You're very special to me."

The small flush of pink on Kayo's cheeks was replaced by red. She was focusing on some rock on the ground, trying hard to hide her face. "Yo- And you're special to me too."

Satoru turned bright red. ' _I'm technically 43 years old and I'm STILL reacting like this!'_

Kayo pulled herself away and reached into her bag and held out the gloves she was working so diligently on. Even though he saw this already, that didn't affect how much they meant to him.

Satoru took the gloves with a look of gratitude and tried them on. "Fits like a glove," he joked.

"Are you dumb?" Kayo said with an unimpressed face. Satoru missed that old catchphrase and hearing it from her was like music to his ears.

Satoru straightened his arm and extended his palm to her. Kayo looked at his hand and then placed her palm against his. Like they did a little more than a month ago.

The world seemed to stop for a moment. In those few short seconds, everything turned white around them and all Satoru could see was Kayo and her hand pressed against his. He then began to interlace his fingers with hers, then did something unexpected. He grabbed Kayo in his arms, swung her around, laughing all the while like an imbecile. This greatly surprised her, and she told Satoru to put her down right now. The flush of red and embarrassment was spreading even further on her face.

He promptly complied, and then, to everyone's surprise, planted a quick little kiss on Kayo's cheek. "When we get older," he said, "let's get married."

Kayo's face was now as red as a bright cherry. She was perplexed by Satoru's shear audacity and didn't know how to react. So she shoved him towards the ground, as any girl would at her age, and quickly ran into the car, slamming it behind her; ending the white moment.

Satoru blinked and began to blush after recognizing the words he just said, then quickly scampered to his feet and looked for Kayo in the car's rear window. She was frowning at him. He could see it. But as the car started and began to roll down the road, Satoru could just make out the forming of a smile at the corners of her mouth.

Then Sachiko burst in from the blue, grabbed Satoru, and began to nuggie him saying, "Well aren't you the little Casanova!"

"Mom!" Satoru squirmed, "You're embarrassing me."

"Oh, you did plenty of that on your own," his mother gleefully jabbed.

A man walked over and spoke. "Congratulations, Satoru. You saved Kayo."

Sachiko finally released Satoru from her playful grasp, and he could see the speaker.

"Well done," Yashiro said.

Satoru looked at him and replied, "I ju- I just did what I could. But thank you."

Satoru didn't show any negative emotion of any kind. He couldn't. At this time, he remembered that Yashiro was beginning to have suspicions regarding Satoru's "friendship" with Kayo, but was still confident that this turn of events was simply bad luck on his end. Nothing more.

Satoru turned back to the car carrying Kayo inside. It got smaller and smaller until it disappeared into the into the white morning fog. She was safe… for now. But he needed to make a plan to make sure she and the others would be safe from Yashiro indefinitely. He didn't know what to do or how, but he knew he needed to do something.


	7. Chapter 7

**Ch7 Call Me Crazy**

Satoru was back at his old school in no time. Except for this time, Kayo wasn't in her usual seat anymore, much to his sorrow and relief. Although he was happy that she was with her Grandmother once again, he was sad to not be around her and proceeded to sulk for almost the entire period. 'I'm technically 43 years old, and I'm still acting this way," he chided himself. 'I suppose that although I'm older, my maturity is still that of my 11-year-old self.'

"Ahh, buck up, buddy!" Kazu said, slapping Satoru on the shoulder. "She'll be fine. It's not like she left the country. You can still see her someday."

The rest of Satoru's friends, Jun, Hiromi, and Kenya joined in their attempts to alleviate his melodramatic grief. And he was grateful for it. But he really needed to talk to Kenya.

Suddenly, Satoru felt his lungs constricting and after a few blinks, he saw himself submerged in the car once again. The interior appeared a little clearer than it did the first time. As clear as it could be for seeing underwater. He was still fastened to the seat by his tampered seat belt and attempted to riggle himself free. He couldn't get out. It was too tight.

At this moment, Satoru began to panic again and he again felt an electric shock surge through his spine. Then he caught himself reeling from his desk back in his homeroom class. He threw himself so hard that he actually fell out of his chair; bumping the back of his head on the desk behind him before hitting the ground.

"What was that?" Satoru loudly questioned. "Why was I underwater again. In the car."

Kenya's ears perked when he heard these words. Young as he was, he always took notice of unusual details. And this coming from Satoru was VERY unusual indeed.

Satoru's friends gathered around him. Kazu and Jun helped to lift him off the ground as Hiromi asked if he was alright.

"I- I don't know," Satoru stuttered. "What happened?"

Jun answered, "You were lying your head on your desk when you just suddenly yelled and fell out of your chair."

Satoru finally got to his feet, rubbing the back of his head from the pain. Then Kenya grabbed his shoulder and asked, "Can we talk after school?"

This caught Satoru a little off guard, but he replied, "Sure thing, Kenya. I actually need to talk to you about something too."

Once classes were over, they both walked to their usual spot in the stairwell. They promised to meet with Kazu, Jun, and Hiromi at the Hideout in a bit. Kenya sat down on the top step and posed his question. "Satoru, what really happened back there?"

"I don't really know," Satoru replied. "I was sitting in my chair while you and everyone else were talking, and then all of a sudden I felt like I was underwater and I couldn't breathe."

Kenya paused for a moment, looking him in the eyes, then asked, "Then why did you mention a car? And why did you say, "the" car instead of "A" car?"

'As sharp as ever,' Satoru thought. He was both pleased and worried that he picked up on that detail. He didn't know how to respond. 'I can't tell him about Yashiro. That he tried to murder me by dumping me into a frozen river. And I can't tell him about my Revivals either.' But then something struck him like a load of bricks. 'Can it be that the reason why Kayo, Kenya, Sachiko, Kumi, and the others died at Camp Sasanqua because I didn't tell Kenya about his revival before?' This thought deeply troubled him. If he continued down the same path he walked on his last revival, the same thing would likely happen again. Satoru couldn't allow that to happen. Not ever again. So he decided to tell Kenya the truth. All of it.

Before Satoru could begin his story, Kenya imposed another question, "Has this "dream" happened before?"

"Actually Kenya," Satoru started, "it has. But not in a dream."

Kenya shifted his position and placed his hand on his chin; looking both puzzled and attentive. "What do you mean?" he inquired.

Satoru sighed, steeled himself, and said, "You'll never believe me. But everything I'm about to tell you is one-hundred percent true."

"Go on," Kenya said.

"That 'dream'," Satoru began, "of me being in a car underwater isn't a dream. It was a memory, or will be a memory."

Satoru paused and searched Kenya's face to find a reaction. There was nothing. He was silently sitting there with his ears open; ready to hear whatever insanities that'll come out of Satoru's mouth.

He continued. "In my past, you and I saved everyone. Kayo, Nakanishi Aya, and Hiromi from the kidnapper… however, he found out that I knew about his plans and tricked me into driving with him. He tampered with the seatbelt, so I couldn't unlock it and drove me to a frozen river before a bridge. He unrolled the windows, got out, and dumped me into cold water. I essentially… drowned… but someone found me in the car and managed to save me. I was in a coma for 15 years. Then after I woke up, I reconnected with you, Hiromi, and Kayo. But a year later, you, Kayo, my mom, and many others die anyway, by the same man who tried to kill me."

Once Satoru finished, he searched Kenya's face again to find some kind of reaction. Laughter, scorn, perhaps a little worry, but his face was vacant of any expression aside from that studious mask he nearly wore at all times. During the entire explanation, Kenya didn't bat an eye, but sat there and drank everything in.

After a worryingly long period of silence, Kenya finally made his response. "Assuming everything you said is true," he started, "why are you here now and why do you have these memories? Are you telling me that you can travel back in time or something?"

Satoru blushed a little from embarrassment and looked away. "I call it Revival," he weakly replied.

"So you are saying you can travel through time," he said whilst standing to his feet.

"I knew you wouldn't believe me," replied with a defeated look on his face. If anyone would believe Satoru's secret, it would have been Kenya. And to him, he failed to convince Kenya.

As Satoru stood there, Kenya walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Call me crazy," he said, "but I'll believe you."

Satoru quickly looked up; staring at his friend with a mix of hope and stupid disbelief. "You do?" he asked.

"Don't misunderstand me," Kenya replied. "Your story sounds irrationally insane."

Satoru lowered his eyes and said, "Oh."

"However," Kenya continued, "Because of your newly-found drive, we were able to save Kayo from her mother. That is something I was too scared to tackle, and there is no way in a million years the"Satoru" I knew would have done it either. But this "new you" went and took this problem head-on."

Satoru lifted his eyes again at Kenya's encouragement. He continued. "Although I find this "Revival" ability yours to be suspect, I'll buy it for now. But I have one question that needs an answer."

Satoru was afraid of what he was going to ask. "Well, what are they?"

The next few words confirmed his fears. "Who is kidnapper?"


	8. Chapter 8

Hello readers. I know I've been a little infrequent with my chapters, and I make no promises that I will finish this project, but here is chapter 8 and I hope you like it. Cheers!

P.S I do not own ERASED

 **Ch 8 Secrets Hidden**

"I'm sorry, Kenya," Satoru replied, sadly hanging his head. "That's one thing I can't tell you."

Kenya took his hand off of his friend's shoulder and crossed his arms. A blank expression rested on his face, but his eyes told what he was truly thinking. He was disappointed, hurt, frustrated, and yet unsurprised all at the same time.

"Why is that?" he inquired.

Satoru shrugged his shoulders and said, "I just can't tell you."

"Can't I have a hint or something?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you anything. If I do, it may potentially put everyone's life at risk."

Kenya looked intently into his friend's eyes. "Tell me just one thing," he pressed as he gestured a "one" with his index finger.

Satoru thought for a moment. If Kenya knows that Yashiro is the kidnapper, he could probably be a big help. But I already told him about my histories and my Revival. Surely that'll be enough to change the future… But then again...

The boy leaned rolled back and forth on his heels, staring at the ceiling. Pondering some more. When I told Kenya the kidnapper's identity in the future, we were able to find his tools… even though they were dummies. The Yashiro of the future knew how smart Kenya and I were then. And the only reason why our plan failed is that HE knew that we knew who he was. But now...

"Ya-!" Satoru quickly looked around at his surroundings. "Let's go to the Hideout"

"Wha-" Instantly, Satoru grabbed Kenya's arm and started running out the door towards their childhood fortress. Soon enough they were both off of school grounds and he slowed down and pulled Kenya close with his hands on his shoulders.

"You can't tell anyone or act any different around him after I tell you his name. Do you understand?"

Kenya's ears perked up. "You know I'm here to help you any way I can. I promise."

"And one more thing, if you know, he may find out and make you a target later. "

Kenya looked his friend straight in the eyes and nodded, fully aware of the risk he is taking.

Satoru looked around one more time before revealing the name of the kidnapper and murderer.

"The kidnapper is our homeroom teacher, Gaku Yashiro."

"Why are Kenya and Satoru taking so long?" a disgruntled Kazu impatiently complained. "They said they'd meet us soon after their talk. What's taking so long?"

"They'll get here eventually," Hiromi calmly replied.

"There's no need to get so riled up," Jun joined in. "It's only been about ten minutes. They'll show up eventually, I'm sure."

Kazu humphed, crossed his arms, then began impatiently rocking back and forth on the heels of his chair. This didn't last long. A short two minutes later, he stood up and stomped toward the door.

"Where are you going, Kazu?" Jun asked.

"I'm going to find those two and drag them back if I have to."

"That's a little drastic, don't you think?" Hiromi replied.

"Well, I don't care. I'm going to find Kenya and Satoru."

"I'll go with you," Jun said packing his homework. "I'm a little curious where they are too.

Then Hiromi stood up. "I suppose I'll be joining you then."

And with that, the three walked over to the school entrance, only to find no Satoru or Kenya.

"Where did they go? They said they'd be here, didn't they?" Kazu questioned.

The three quickly scanned the horizon to catch sight of one or the other. "There. Isn't that them?" Jun pointed down the road. They could just make out two people standing down the road. It was Satoru and Kenya. They looked like they were talking to another person. They were sitting down at a table at the playground.

"That's them all right," Kazu confirmed. "And what are they doing, making new friends? They think we're not good enough, don't they? We'll see about that."

And with that, Kazu dashed away with two worried friends quickly following from behind. Kazu ran and ran and ran until he came close and hid behind one of the bushes. Jun staggered up, catching his breath from behind.

"You didn't have to run so fas-"

"SHH!" Kazu grabbed Jun and pulled him down behind the bushes. "We don't want them to hear us. Let's listen."

So Jun and Kazu leaned closer so they could hear the conversation going on between Satoru, Kenya, and the other person who looked like a girl.

"You should join my friends and I at our Hideout," Satoru said. "You'd have so much fun with u-"

"Hideout?" the girl interjected with mild surprise. "Boys are so childish."

"WHA-!"

Jun covered Kazu's mouth just in time. "Shh! We don't want them to find us." He said in a whisper. Kazu nodded, Jun removed his hand, and they began to listen in again. She continued.

"Boys are always sneaking around and building "secret bases" and "hideouts," she said with an air of, disdain and superiority. "I bet you pretend you're superheroes too, don't you?"

Kazu immediately stood up, from his hiding place. They didn't see him. The girl was mocking Satoru and Kenya, caricaturing how they would play "hero", but he wasn't going to take this lying down. She had mocked their hideout. His hideout. And he would have none of it.

She picked up her backpack and was about to walk away when Kazu jumped in front of her, surprising everyone present. "WAIT!" he yelled.

The girl was staring at him now. So was everyone. She was a pretty girl with dark brown hair, almost black, styled as pigtails and dark eyes. She wore a red windbreaker and a pink skirt with a backpack strapped to her back. When Kazu leaped from his hiding place, the girl started to blush; a mainly from surprise and a little from embarrassment. Sotaru and Kenya were holding their breath, terrified at what he would do or say. Even Kazu was a bit scared.

A flush of pink crept across the face of the brave, or you could say, foolish boy. His thoughts were buzzing with a myriad tangled mess of little strings, all concerning the girl who nervously stood before him. Man, she's pretty. I hope she likes me. Darn it! She's starrin' at me. Her eyes are pretty. What color do you call it again? I think it's hazel or something, or I don't know. And are those pigtails?

Kazu continued his mental fawning, but then remembered his purpose. He shook himself and bringing his fist to his heart, made his proclamation.

"A boy's - no. A MAN'S hideout is a place full of his greatest and dearest dreams. A place where they can be themselves and share and live the dreams they love so much without fear with their fellow men. Just come over and see for yourself."

After extending the invitation he lost his train of thought. He just stood there with his fist over his heart. The situation became awkward. The girl was still staring at the boy. She was a bit impressed by his courage, or stupidity you could call it. But now, her cheeks were bright pink. She was too embarrassed to look at Kazu anymore.

"Wha-Whatever! You're weird." The girl tightened her grip on her backpack's straps and quickly walked past the boy. Kazu didn't even watch her leave, but bowed his head in disappointment and slumped his shoulders. She was gone now.

A hand was placed on the boy's shoulder. "Do ya want to go to the Hideout now?"

In a few minutes Satoru, Kenya, Jun, and Kazu opened the door to their fortress. Hiromi was sitting on a chair reading his book.

"Hey, why didn't we see you at the park?" Jun inquired.

Hiromi looked up from his book and replied, "You both took off so fast that I decided to wait for you guys to come back. I'm sorry I didn't come. This is just a good book," he said gesturing a free hand towards his book. He noticed Kazu's glum expression on his face. "What happened to Kazu?"

"Our friend here is in love," Kenya teased.

"NO I'M NOT!" Kazu yelled.

"Oooh. Who's the girl?" Hiromi asked.

"I TOLD YOU I'M NOT IN LOVE!"

Everyone chuckled lightly. Kenya kept on prodding and making fun of their new love-stricken friend.

"Oh? You're not in love, are you? Then I guess you don't want to know her name then."

Before Kazu could give his angry reply, there was a knock on the metal door. Three knocks total. Everyone's eyes were instantly at the entrance. No one moved, but their eyes darted back and forth between each other and the door, waiting to see who would be brave enough to open it.

Satoru sighed, reached for the handle, and opened the door. It was the girl from the park, looking quite embarrassed to be there. She stepped inside and said, "I - I only came to see how silly your little "Hideout" was."

Kazu walked over to her, rubbing the back of his head, and said, "Well, umm... Welcome to the Hideout."

Hello again. I hope you liked this chapter. So if you would really like me to finish this story, please be sure to leave a comment with any ideas, advice or criticisms. I am more than willing to accept advice. But anyway, take care. Cheers!


End file.
